On November 12, Ryanair banned the use of printed boarding passes for almost all of its flights.
Unhappy travellers said ‘people should boycott’ the Irish airline and questioned the practicality of going paperless, while elderly support organisations such as Silver Voices have described the move as an example of the ‘digital revolution gone bonkers’.
And it seems at least one European country agrees.
Portugal has pushed back against Michael O’Leary’s decision to go digital, with the country’s National Civil Aviation Authority instructing the carrier to accept printed passes, regardless of the policy.
Portugal’s CAA also wants reissue fees waived and an assurance that ‘no passenger is left behind’ if their phone runs out of battery. This was reportedly made clear in a statement seen by The Independent.
The aviation body wants it to be clear that if you’ve got a confirmed flight reservation and you’ve checked in, Ryanair cannot prevent you from boarding — even if you can’t show a digital pass.
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‘It appears that Ryanair intends to guarantee all passenger rights, including those of passengers with disabilities, reduced mobility or who do not have a smartphone or tablet,’ it noted.
There are already two exceptions to the paperless rule, and now Portugal makes a third.
In Albania, authorities have insisted that passengers be permitted to present paper passes until March 2026, after which they have agreed that passes can be digital.
Morocco has the same paper pass policy as Albania, however, it won’t be changing its rules to fit Ryanair’s paperless policy.
Michael O’Leary has confirmed his airline will make exceptions in this case and accept physical passes for flights to the African country.
What happens if you can’t get your Ryanair boarding pass on your phone?
O’Leary has sought to ease concerns surrounding the new policy, advising that there will be alternatives for passengers whose phones might have run out of battery or even been lost.
‘If you lose your phone, no issue. As long as you’ve checked in before you got to the airport, we’ll reissue a paper boarding pass at the airport free of charge. But you have to have checked in before you got to the airport,’ he told The Independent’s travel podcast.
‘If your battery dies or something happens, once you’ve checked in, we’ll have your sequence number anyway at the boarding gate, we’ll take you, you’ll get on. Nobody should worry about it,’ he added.
Ryanair’s new rule for boarding passes explained
If you wanted a quick reminder on why passengers and aviation authorities are so unimpressed with Ryanair’s change, we’ve got you covered.
Ryanair passengers are no longer able to use a printed boarding pass, a change which came in just over a week ago.
The Irish carrier is switching to digital – aka paperless – boarding passes, meaning the days of downloading and printing your ticket are, as of now, over.
Instead, you will need to use the digital version generated on the Ryanair app during check-in.
Most importantly, this means you’ll have to check in before you get to the airport to secure your boarding pass – so don’t sleep on it.
Ryanair boss Michael O’Leary claims between 85 and 90% of its 200 million annual customers are already doing so, but if you haven’t been, you’ll need to make the switch.
The move has been condemned by passengers, as well as consumer groups and industry experts.
The latest news on Ryanair as it culls routes and scraps paper boarding passes
Critics say it will alienate less tech-native travellers, particularly the elderly, and that the risk of financial penalties if a phone is lost or its battery dies is unfair.
Dennis Reed, from campaign group Silver Voices, told BBC Radio 4’s You and Yours programme the change was an example of the ‘digital revolution gone bonkers’.
Age UK, meanwhile, said that companies that move more processes online still had a responsibility to offer an alternative way of booking, checking in and showing tickets.
Ryanair should not ‘forget the 4.3 million older people who do not use a smartphone,’ said Caroline Abrahams, Age UK’s charity director.
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